How can we tell what God's answer is?

[cheese_sdc]

If God always answers our prayers, how can we tell what the answer is?

If I pray to God and say “God, I really want to do x, but I don’t know if I should. What is your will?” After I pray, I talk to some people who encourage me that I should do x, thus leading me to conclude that God is telling me through these people that I should. But then I talk to some other people who tell me I shouldn’t do x, leading me to think maybe God is telling me through these people that I shouldn’t. After a week of contemplating it, I have no other clear sign.

So what’s God answer? How do I know what his will is? People sometimes make life changing decisions based on what they think God is telling them to do, so this can be a rather important question.

I asked that same question to myself. My answer - you can’t. You just have to make the best decision you can with what you know at the time.

I spent 4 years in the seminary praying. Never heard God’s voice telling me what to do. You just have to wing it.

 

[three-sixteen]

God will slowly change our desires so that will be “conformed to the image of Christ.” But this will take many Communions and much prayer. Just spending time with God often is a good way to get to know Him and His Voice. i like to take prayer walks in nature. Just talk to God and tell Him your needs and desires and thank Him for all His Blessings. This is probably the most important thing. if you were married, you would want to spend quality time each day with your spouse. Otherwise the relationship would eventually deteriorate (sp?). The same goes with God, Who is supposed to be our “first love” and our Spouse (we are the “bride of Christ”).

Do you spend quality time with God often, awake? There is nothing you can do more to please Him. The Bible says that a Christian should “pray without ceasing.” This does not mean you have to repeat the Our Father over and over all day, but it means that one should always be in a relationship to God, realizing He is with us at each moment, and including Him in our thoughts and decisions. i talk to Him constantly throughout the day. in other words, a Christian really might look like they are talking to themself constantly, but this is what the Bible says we are to do.

God is closer than any friend because He is always there and always interested in us, and always has advice and guidance 24-7. No friend in the world can compare to this. However our Spiritual Mother is there for us at all times as well, as our the Saints. What friend would keep talking to you if you called him 100 or 1000 times a day? God would and does. He never sleeps, nor gets tired of us. He will “never leave or forsake” us. praise His Holy Name!

awake, add to this on-going relationship, daily Mass and adoration, to increase the intimacy. And to make our Mom happy, see if you cant pray the Rosary each day. God Bless!

 

[Cara_Serrano]

How do I differentiate between that and my feelings. They sound exactly the same.

You don’t have to rely on your feelings. You make a reasonable decision based on the information you’ve collected and the fruit of your prayers. You research, you pray, and then you decide. I don’t think there is a “wrong” choice once you’ve gone through this process. The trick is to keep praying after you’ve made the decision so that God’s will continues to work through you.

For example, you may be praying for the spouse that God intended you to marry. You may find that person, and then you may have a lot of problems with that person. This doesn’t mean you made the wrong choice; it just means you have to spend the rest of your life making that choice work within the will of God. If you hadn’t prayed for discernment, you might have married someone easier to live with, but not God’s choice for you. Don’t assume things are going to go smoothly once you’re doing God’s will!